


Fractured

by BladeoftheNebula



Series: Rockabye Verse [4]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alpha/Omega, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Small Town, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Humor, Injury, Kid Fic, M/M, Parenthood, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-04
Updated: 2019-11-04
Packaged: 2021-01-23 00:07:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21310864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BladeoftheNebula/pseuds/BladeoftheNebula
Summary: Steve learns that sometimes being a parent is a pretty tough gig.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Series: Rockabye Verse [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1239491
Comments: 40
Kudos: 539





	Fractured

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to the next part of the Rockabye verse! On the timeline, this takes place a year or so after Home is Where the Heart is.
> 
> Warning for a child getting a significant injury - don't worry he'll be just fine!

“Now?” a voice said, tugging on his jumper sleeve. Steve sighed.

He looked at the hopeful face of his son and raised an eyebrow. “What did I say about playtime, buddy?”

J.J. slumped dramatically. “That you hafta work until 12 o’clock and then we can play,” he recited dutifully. 

“Exactly, and it’s now”—he looked at his phone—“11:44. So I still have 16 minutes to finish this proposal and then we can play like I promised.”

“Can we play outside?”

A quick look at the window and Steve shook his head. “It’s raining pretty heavy. And I don’t want you to get sick. Besides, if I let you out, then I have to let Harper out, and you know how your dad feels about the smell of wet dog. We’ll play with your Legos or something, OK?”

“But I’m bored now.”

“I know, but if you go and sit quietly for a little longer, I’ll be done and we can play as long as you like, alright?”

“OK,” J.J. groaned, entirely too reminiscent of Tony when things weren’t going his way. Steve ruffled J.J.’s hair and nudged him towards the lounge with a light shove.

* * *

His phone timer went off and Steve silenced it, shutting his laptop. He’d gotten the proposal for the gallery in New York sent away, and now there was nothing to do but wait for the client’s response. 

He rolled his shoulders and stretched his arms over his head, enjoying the satisfying clicks as he shook out the stiffness.

He was just tidying his papers when he suddenly realised the house was quiet. Way too quiet for a house that should have a kid and a dog in it. He got up and walked through to the lounge.

“Captain Rogers, Master J.J. just exited the back door with Harper.”

Steve sighed, rubbing his hands over his face. Great, a wet kid and a wet dog. Lovely.

Well, he could afford to put his work stuff away first then, since someone else apparently thought it was fine to break the rules.

He packed up his papers and laptop and had just started towards the staircase when he heard a shriek and the sound of Harper barking.

He dropped his work on the hall table and turned, running through the kitchen and out the French doors that had been left ajar. 

He burst out into the yard, his eyes landing on a crumpled figure next to the tree near the fence. The dog stood nearby, barking frantically. Steve’s heart leapt in his throat.

He ran over. “J.J.!”

J.J. held his arm to his chest, and a line of blood streamed down his face from a nasty cut on his forehead. His clothes were soaked through from the rain, and he was shaking.

“Papa, my arm hurts!” he wailed, his voice descending into sobbing. 

Fuck. Steve picked him up. “OK, it’s OK, buddy. You’ll be fine.” 

He carried the pup inside and carefully laid him down on the couch, ignoring the damp for now.

“Let me have a look.” Carefully, he examined the injured arm, making certain not to move it. J.J.’s skin was hot and swollen to the touch, and mottled bruises had already begun to form.

“I think you might’ve broken your arm, kiddo,” he said, looking at J.J.’s pale, scared face. “It’s alright though. We’re going to go to the hospital and get it fixed up. But first we have to get you some dry clothes.”

Double fuck. Steve didn’t want to hurt the arm any further, but the kid was soaked through from the rain and mud he’d landed in, and he couldn’t stay in them for the half hour trip to the emergency room.

He grabbed one of Tony’s shirts and a pair of J.J.’s pants and carefully started to peel off J.J.’s wet jumper and shirt, trying to do both at the same time to reduce the stress. He moved slowly, but he must’ve caught his elbow because J.J. shrieked. Steve froze, breath catching in his throat.

“Sorry! Sorry, baby.” He wrapped an arm around J.J.’s uninjured side and kissed his forehead. “I know, I promise, almost done.” 

“No! No, don’t touch!” J.J. wailed, huge wet sobs that made Steve’s chest hurt. He felt sick with it. 

“I have to. I know it hurts, but I have to. I’ll be careful. You’re being so brave.”

J.J. tried to shuffle away, but Steve held him tight, opening his sleeve wide so he could pull it off without any pressure. He sighed with relief as it slid off. 

“There we go, all done, it’s OK,” he soothed, rocking J.J. gently. Putting Tony’s shirt on him after was easy with it being so big for him, which was why he’d picked it in the first place. The sobs quietened down as J.J. ran out of breath, until it was just sniffling and the odd tear. Steve grabbed a wet wipe, cleaning him up and wiping away the blood from the cut on his head, where a decent-sized bump had formed. 

“What happened?” Steve realised he hadn’t even asked. 

“I was climbing the...the big tree and I, I slipped and I fell and my arm hurts!” The sobs increased and Steve held him close. 

“How many times have I told you you’re not allowed to climb that tree? And why were you outside? I told you not to go out.” He reined in his frustration - it wasn’t difficult, not looking down at J.J. small and tear-streaked in his arms.

“Because you wouldn’t come because you’re always working and you never have time to play,” J.J. sobbed out desperately.

A wave of guilt swelled up. But he couldn’t deal with that. Not right now.

He picked J.J. up and carefully draped a jacket over his shoulders. “We have to go to the hospital. Come on.”

He strapped the pup into his car seat, instructing him to hold still. Once they were on the road, he activated Jarvis.

“Jarvis, call Tony.”

“Yes, Captain.”

A moment passed. “I’m sorry, Captain, but his phone is off.”

Steve bit back a curse. Tony and Pepper were at a board meeting today in Rochester. Tony wouldn’t be able to check his phone for at least an hour or two. If Steve needed to, he was sure he could get a message through if he rang around the Stark Solutions office. But it wasn’t an emergency and J.J. would hopefully back at home by the time Tony got out. He could save sending an intern bursting into the meeting for if the hospital visit didn’t go well.

“Leave him a message Jarvis - tell him J.J. had an accident, but he’s OK, and to call me when he can.”

“Call Ma,” he said once Jarvis confirmed the notification was sent.

“Hi, Steve.” Her voice came reassuringly over the speakers.

“Hey, Ma. Where are you?”

“At work, I’m just on break. Are you alright?”

Steve felt some of the panic seep out of him. He knew the hospital had some great doctors and nurses and J.J. would be in good hands even if she wasn’t on shift, but he couldn’t help the feeling of relief. It was going to be fine if his Ma was there.

“I think J.J.’s broken his arm. We’re on our way to you.”

Her tone was all business. “Can he move his fingers?”

Steve looked in the rear-view mirror. “Buddy, can you wiggle your fingers for Nana?”

J.J. twitched them and nodded. 

“Yeah, he can move them."

“Baby, does your arms feel funny? Like tickly or pins and needles?”

J.J. shook his head. “No, just hurts.” 

“That’s good. I’ll see you soon sweetheart, OK? I’ll meet you both at reception.”

The pup nodded, sniffling and leaning against the side of his car seat. 

“Thanks, Ma. See you soon.”

* * *

Everything moved pretty quickly once they arrived. 

His Ma was there to meet them, and she deftly whisked them through registration and had them in front of a doctor within ten minutes.

“No sign of concussion, just a nasty bruise,” Dr Pym said, checking J.J.’s eyes with a torch. 

J.J. whined, blinking. “S’too bright.”

The doctor chuckled. “Sorry, but the good news is that your head is OK.”

He gently checked the pup’s arm, testing his movement and feeling the skin.

“Well, I don’t think you’ve done too much damage,” Dr Pym said. “I’ll have to send you for x-ray, but I’d say most likely it’ll be a fracture.”

J.J. squinted. “Frack-cha?”

Dr Pym chuckled. “Sorry, that’s doctor talk. Frac_-ture. _It means you’ve broken your arm bone, just a little bit. So, it hurts now, and it might be a bit sore for a few weeks while it fixes itself. What we need to do is send you to have a photo taken of the bone and then, if I’m right, we’ll give you a cast - like a big thick plaster for your whole arm - so that your arm gets better.”

J.J.’s eyes were wide as he listened intently, his pain obviously side-lined for the moment. Both the twins had a healthy curiosity, always absorbing information like little sponges. On the one hand, it was incredible, and Steve and Tony were proud as heck. On the other hand, they had a bad habit of overhearing conversations and repeating embarrassing information to their friends and family. Swings and roundabouts, really.

Dr Pym grabbed a sling, looping it around J.J.’s neck and then resting his arm in it. “That should stop you from jostling it too much. I think if your grandma”—Dr Pym looked at Sarah, who gave him a nod—“can walk you two down to x-ray and then when you’re done, I’ll come see you again.”

“Thanks, Hank,” Steve said gratefully. 

“Not a problem, Steve,” Dr Pym said. He smiled at J.J.. “And you, young man, I’ll see you shortly.”

The pup gave him a wobbly smile.

* * *

Steve waited anxiously outside the radiology room, leaning against the wall, his head tipped back.

Now that he had a moment to himself, it was hard to stop his mind from spinning.

He kept flashing back to J.J.’s teary face. _You’re always working, and you never have time to play._

Had it gotten that bad? He had been working more, it was true. Tony had encouraged it, not wanting him to pull back after the incident with Stane’s hired thugs. He tried to be home as much as possible though, and he was there to pick up the pups from school and do their homework with them.

But maybe it wasn’t enough. Not if that’s how J.J. saw him – an alpha too busy staring at a screen to have fun.

He could’ve finished early today. Sixteen minutes and he and his kid would be happily painting at the kitchen table instead of spending the afternoon at the hospital.

But no. He’d prioritised the proposal and gotten it done, but at the cost of his pup’s health.

He ran his hands through his hair, the guilt swimming in his stomach.

God, what was Tony going to say?

Steve was the twins’ father, Tony had been clear about that from the start; there had never been any question. Equal partners in everything. But it was one thing to say that to someone you thought you could trust with your pups, compared to someone who had let one of them break his arm while he was too busy working to watch him. He took a deep breath, trying to relax the knot in his stomach. 

It wasn’t that he thought that Tony would end them over this or anything. But he might be more...careful about leaving the twins with Steve, not trust him to keep them safe. Even if he didn’t actually stop leaving them alone with Steve, he might worry about it whenever he wasn’t present, and God knew Tony didn’t need more stress added to his life.

Maybe Steve was being naive. Maybe Tony _would_ want someone more trustworthy to be his alpha. Just the thought of it made his heart clench as he fought back an instinctive growl.

Stop. He was spiralling and this wasn’t helping. He needed to stop. But J.J.’s sobbed words kept playing over and over in his head.

He lost track of time, stuck in his head until suddenly the radiologist was standing in front of him holding J.J.’s good hand.

“All done. It’s just as Dr Pym thought: hairline fracture of his radius. The doctor will still want to take a look, but I’m confident he’ll tell you the same.”

Steve nodded and thanked her, reaching out to take J.J.’s hand and take him back to the waiting room. “That wasn’t so bad, right?” he asked, keeping his tone light and trying to keep the anxiety out of his voice.

J.J. nodded. “Yeah, the lady said that they took a picture of my bones!” He sniffled. “My arm hurts, papa.”

Steve felt a stab of guilt again. “I know. I’m going to ask if the doctors can give you something to make it better.”

Doctor Pym agreed, suggesting some nitrous oxide before they attempted to plaster, which seemed to give J.J. relief.

The cast was set, and Steve left the pup with Ma to try and call Tony.

He had several messages from his friends but none from Tony, so he tried calling again.

“Hey, this is Tony, my phone’s off or I’m busy so leave a—”

Steve cut the call. Damn. He tapped out a quick message, letting him know they would be heading home soon and to go there when he got back. 

When he was done, he pulled up the other messages.

“Fuck. _Fuck_.” He hit call and waited.

“Hey, Steve. What’s up?”

“Buck, can you do me a favour? J.J. broke his arm and we’re at the hospital. I need—”

“The kid broke his arm? Is he OK?”

“Yeah, just a fracture. He fell out of the tree out the back. Buck, I was busy working and he got out and hurt himself. It’s my fault. What’s Tony going to say?” He let it pour out like a flood, feeling sick with it.

“Aw, Steve, come on. Kids get into scrapes, Tony knows that.”

Steve squeezed his eyes shut and huffed out a breath.

“God, that’s not even why I called. I completely forgot, can you pick up Riri? She’s playing over at Jane’s place with Sif. I can’t believe I forgot about my other kid,” he dug the heel of his hand into his forehead. “What if I hadn’t remembered and she’d been left on her own?”

“Fuck’s sake, Steve, you need to chill,” Bucky huffed. “You’ve got a lot on your mind, it’s alright that you forgot you needed to pick her up. Also, she wasn’t going to be left on her own. If you hadn’t come, Jane would’ve called and she would’ve kept her at her place, you know, because she’s a responsible adult who wouldn’t just leave your six-year-old kid on the doorstep and drive off. She would’ve been fine.”

“Can you go pick her up or not?”

“Yes, of course I can. But you’re a bit stressed, so why don’t I see if Jane is happy to let her sleep over? If not, Nat and I can look after her tonight ok? You just focus on getting J.J.. settled.”

Steve sighed with relief, the tightness in his chest relaxing a little. “Thanks, Buck, I owe you.”

“Just, don’t beat yourself up, OK? Pups are accident prone, they do this shit all the time. That’s why they bounce back so quick.”

“I know.” And he did. It wasn’t like this was the first-ever injury one of the pups had had. Hell, two months ago Maria has sprinted into the edge of the corner cabinet and given herself a black eye. But this was different. They were at the hospital. He’d been too busy to spend time with his pup and now his pup had a broken arm. Cause and effect.

“I mean, remember how many scrapes you and I got into? Hell, you broke your collarbone that time when you got into a fight with Schmidt when he was bullying Sam, remember?”

That was true, though he’d been twelve when that happened. J.J. was so small.

“Look, just don’t be all _you _about it, OK?”

Steve snorted. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Uh huh. Well, I’ll let you get back to the pup.” There was muffled chatter for a second and then Bucky was back. “Sam says he’ll drop off some pie and dinner for you guys for when you get back. And also, that he could’ve punched Schmidt himself if your skinny ass hadn’t jumped between them.”

Steve couldn’t help but snort. “Tell him thanks.” 

He ended the call after the goodbyes and tapped his phone against his chin. He checked the time. Tony still had at least an hour before he was likely to be out of the meeting. 

He went back to sit beside J.J., who was looking significantly better post-laughing gas. 

“Papa!” he said, way too loud. “They gived me air and now my head feels funny.” He looked at his nana. “My arm doesn’t hurt anymore. Is that a robot?”

Even the guilt couldn’t stop the laughter bubbling up in Steve, and without any shame he pulled out his phone and hit record. Tony would kill him if he missed this.

“That’s a machine for checking your medicine,” Sarah said.

“It’s a bad robot. Daddy makes better robots. Big ones.” He looked around. “Where’s dad? Where’s Riri?”

Steve opened his mouth to explain, but before he could, J.J.’s attention immediately switched tracks. Frowning, J.J. turned to look at his freshly plastered arm and tried to lift it. “Where’s my arm, I can’t see it.”

His Ma was stifling giggles behind her hand and Steve found himself fighting his own smile.

“It’s still there, kiddo, it’s just got a cast on it to make sure your bones can heal.”

J.J. lifted his arm to look at his hand, and then promptly hit himself in the face. Steve burst out with a laugh, making J.J. look at him grumpily. “Why you laughing at me?”

“Sorry,” Steve said, reaching out to remove the offending arm from his son’s face. He rubbed the reddening spot on his forehead carefully and pressed a kiss to it. “The doctor said we can go home soon, would you like that?”

“Can I have panned cakes? And ice cream?” J.J. asked sleepily. He yawned wide. “And I want choc…late.” The last was said on a yawn and Steve knew he wouldn’t be up for much longer.

“Sam said he’d send you your favourite from the diner,” Steve said, brushing his hand over his hair. “Would you like that?”

J.J. nodded, closing his eyes. Steve kept petting him until his breathing pattern shifted and he knew he was finally asleep.

Steve leaned back, running his hands over his face, and let out a deep breath. This was easily the worst part of being a parent – seeing your pup hurt.

He felt a hand on his arm and jumped. His Ma was there; he hadn’t even heard her move.

“You OK, Stevie?”

“Yeah, Ma, I’m fine,” he said, not wanting to worry her. His stomach was in knots. It was a mix of guilt for not watching J.J. better and panic over what Tony would say when he found out.

“It’s tough, huh? Seeing your little one with more than a bump or a bruise?”

Steve nodded, leaning into to take the comfort she was offering. “It’s hell.”

“Well I wouldn’t know anything about that,” Sarah said, eyebrow arched. “After all, my son was perfect.”

“Ma…” Steve groaned plaintively.

“He certainly never got into fights or went out to play with Bucky even though he had a fever and was meant to be in bed. Or drank a bottle of perfume after getting into my drawers.”

“_Ma,” _Steve said again, pointedly.

She huffed a long-suffering sigh, but then leaned over to hug him tight. “He’ll be OK.”

He leaned into the comfort and let his eyes fall closed. “I know, Ma.”

* * *

Steve had nodded off too in the end, the stress of the day finally catching up with him.

Sarah eventually woke him up, telling him she had signed everything off and they could go home. She’d spoken to Tony too, and he was already on his way home and would likely be there before them.

Steve managed to keep himself from thinking too hard about that, getting J.J. bundled into the car and focusing on the drive, but when they neared the turnoff for home, his stomach erupted in butterflies. He could see Tony’s Mercedes in the drive.

He pulled up and got out, moving around the car and getting J.J. out of his car seat. He cradled the pup close, tucking the pain medicine and his phone in his pocket.

There was shifting, and J.J. opened his eyes and yawned. “We home?”

“Yeah, buddy, we’re home,” Steve said, closing the car door. “And Dad’s back from his meeting.”

He heard the sound of a door opening, and Tony stepped out.

“Oh my god, Steve!” Tony said, making a beeline for them. Hearing his dad, J.J. whined.

“Daddy!”

“Oh, my baby,” Tony said as he reached them. J.J. held out both arms, sniffling, and Tony swung him up into a cuddle, holding him close. “Are you OK?”

J.J. shook his head. “It’s broke.”

Tony chuckled, the sound a little watery. “Yeah, that’s alright though. Looks like the doctor did a good job.”

“Yeah,” J.J. said, waggling the arm. “And I got a picture of my bone!”

“Oh yeah? Was it cool?”

“Yeah!” The pup trilled excitedly. “And I got a lollipop from the nurse.”

“I bet you did, my brave boy,” Tony said, rocking him gently and kissing his forehead. “And Sam has brought you some chocolate cake and I thought you might like to watch _Coco_.”

J.J. cheered, and Tony laughed. “Come on then.”

Tony turned and walked towards the house carrying the chattering pup in his arms.

Steve stood still, leaning against the car, an empty pit in his stomach. He looked at his shoes. Nothing? Maybe Tony wanted to yell at him in private. His stomach rolled anxiously.

“Steve?”

He looked up to see Tony had stopped on the porch. He was frowning.

“Yeah?”

“Are you coming in?”

Steve pushed himself off the truck. “Sorry, yeah, I’ll be right in. Let me just grab my stuff.”

Tony gave him an odd look but nodded and went in.

He took a deep breath. He’d worry about the inevitable fallout later.

For now, he wanted to curl up with his injured pup and make sure nothing else happened to him.

* * *

“Are you alright?” 

The whispered question made Steve look up. Tony was watching him with concern.

They were in their bed, with J.J. curled up between them safe and fast asleep. He looked so small, especially with the big white cast wrapped around his arm.

He’d managed to escape talking to Tony one-on-one for most of the night, but now it was unavoidable.

“Fine,” he offered neutrally.

Tony reached out to stroke his arm. “Really? You haven’t said much all night.”

“I was just tired is all.” Why was Tony dragging it out?

“Yeah, I bet.” Tony chuckled, a little humourlessly. “I’m glad it was you here to deal with it. If it’d been me, I would’ve freaked.” He brushed Steve’s hair back. “You must be exhausted.”

Steve tried not to gape. Was that it? No reprimands, no cold shoulder, no nothing?

Tony leaned up, careful not to jostle J.J., and kissed Steve. “Go to sleep, sweetheart. You’ve earned it.”

Then he snuggled down with a yawn, an arm resting over J.J. “Lights, Jarvis.”

The room fell into darkness, and Steve just lay there, shocked. Of all the outcomes he’d imagined on the drive over, that Tony wouldn’t be mad at him wasn’t one of them. Instead, it was almost worse. Tony thought Steve had done his job as a parent, that this was an unfortunate accident rather than the result of him prioritising work over his pups.

Well. That was fine. He’d just have to make up for it.

It wouldn’t happen again.

* * *

Steve woke before either Tony or J.J. and wandered downstairs.

Thankfully, it was Sunday, and no one needed to be anywhere. He sent a text to Jane letting her know he’d come by and pick up Maria around nine and set to work making breakfast.

“Yip!”

He smiled as Harper perked up at his arrival in the kitchen. She got up, stretching languidly before she wandered over to him. He reached down to pat her, smiling as she leaned on him. “Alright, girl?”

She rumbled quietly and then she went and stood at her bowl pointedly. 

“Yeah, alright,” he said, grabbing her food out of the fridge. “I hear you.”

Once she was happily munching away, he set himself to making French toast. It was J.J.’s favourite.

When it was all done, he set the food on the table and turned to Harper.

“Hey girl, where’s Tony? Where is he?”

She perked up, her tail wagging.

“Where is he? Go on, go get him!”

She planted her feet forward, butt wiggling. “Go get him! Go get Tony!”

She barked, taking off, and Steve listened to the sound of paws running up the stairs. There was a moment’s silence, followed by the yelp that meant a medium-size dog had leapt up on Tony’s side of the bed and licked his face.

He heard J.J. shriek with laughter and smiled. He went upstairs, following the sounds of his family and leaned inside the doorway. “Oh, you’re up?” 

Tony gave him a grumpy look as he shoved Harper aside. “I think you know very well.”

“Well, there’s all this French toast downstairs, and I thought—”

“French toast!” J.J. pushed himself up and ran past Steve.

“Careful!” Steve yelled, checking to make sure he made it downstairs safely. He breathed a sigh of relief. He looked back to Tony. “You getting up?”

Tony groaned. “I guess I am _now_.”

Steve smiled. “I’ll make you coffee.” Then he headed back down to help J.J. with his syrup.

He cut up the French toast for the pup, adding fruit and chocolate sauce on request.

“How’s your arm, bud?”

“Sore,” J.J. whined, though he didn’t stop shovelling his breakfast down.

Steve grabbed the ibuprofen, poured out a teaspoon of the sweet liquid and handed it over. “Here baby, take this.”

He helped J.J. swallow the medicine before giving him a kiss on the head. “You finish eating. I’m going to go get Riri from Jane’s. Let Dad know the coffee’s brewed.”

J.J. nodded. “Okie, Papa.”

Steve wrapped his arms around the tiny body on the stool and hugged him tight. “I’ll be right back, OK?”

J.J. nodded, chewing. “Can I watch _Paw Patrol_?”

Steve generally tried to keep meals screen free, but… “Just this once.” He straightened up. “Jarvis?”

There was a hum, then Paw Patrol was projected on the wall next to the stove. J.J. cheered.

Steve grabbed his keys and his phone and went out to the truck. It would be good to have everyone back in the nest safe and sound.

* * *

“He _broke_ his arm???” 

“Yes,” Steve answered patiently for the third time. “That’s what I said.”

“How????”

“He fell out of the tree out the back. That’s why I said I didn’t want you two climbing it.”

“So, I’m your favourite now. Because I didn’t climb the tree.”

Steve huffed a laugh. The ‘who’s the best pup’ stage had started a few months back, and Steve was more than ready for it to be over.

“No, you’re both my favourite, tree or no tree.”

Maria rolled her eyes – the spitting image of Tony when he did the same thing, and definitely who she’d learned it from.

He pulled into the driveway, grabbing the pup out of the backseat and taking her inside. As soon as she saw her brother, she wiggled free and ran over.

“What is it?” she asked, poking at the cast.

“Cast,” J.J. answered, grabbing his juice with his other hand.

Tony turned around from where he was pouring coffee. “It’s like a band aid, but for his whole arm. And it’s hard so it can protect the bone while it heals.”

“Can I have one?”

Tony snorted. “Not unless you break a bone. And that is not an invitation to do it; we don’t need any more broken children in this household.”

Riri pouted. “It’s not fair that he gets one and I don’t.”

“Well you can either have a cast, or this French toast,” Tony offered, holding a fresh plate. “Which would you like?" 

Riri visibly thought for a moment, before clambering onto her chair at the table. She looked at Tony expectantly.

“That’s what I thought.” He put it down in front of her and she started eating ravenously. Honestly, their children ate like they were raised by wolves.

He sauntered up to Tony, pulling him in by his waist and kissing him. “Morning.”

Tony kissed him back, before breaking away to grab him a cup of coffee. “Here.”

“Thanks,” he said, taking a sip.

“Did you eat?” Tony asked. “Or did you head straight out for this monkey?” He ruffled Riri’s hair.

“Went straight out. I’ll have some now.”

“Ow!”

Steve swung around to where Riri was sitting rubbing her knee. “What’s the matter?”

“Something hurt me!”

He walked over moving her hand out of the way to find a tear in her tights and blood welling up from a fresh cut. “What did you do?”

She pointed under the table.

Steve knelt down, feeling around until he found the culprit. “There’s a loose nail under here.”

“Ouch,” Tony said sympathetically. “You alright kid?”

Riri nodded. “It’s bleeding.”

“Yeah, here, I’ll take you upstairs and we can put a band aid on it and change your tights, hmm?”

She nodded and Tony reached for her, but Steve got there first. “Finish your coffee, I got it.”

Tony frowned. “I can take her. Sit down and have your breakfast.”

Steve gathered up the pup and walked towards the stairwell. “I got it. And then I’ll take care of that nail.”

He fixed up Maria, cleaning off the blood and letting her pick a green band aid from the box. “There we go, all better.”

He helped her change into a pair of untorn tights and then carried her back down to finish her breakfast.

He turned to Tony. “Do you think we need to take her to the doctor’s?”

Tony shook his head. “She should be fine. There’s no rust on it or anything and they’re both up to date on their shots. We’ll ask your Ma if she can take her in for a booster when she has them this week.”

Steve nodded, ducking down under the table. “There’s more than one under here. I’d better take them all out and replace them.” He looked at some of the rough edges. “And sand some of this down.”

“That can wait, Steve. Have something to eat first.”

“Best take care of it now. Make sure no one else gets hurt.”

“Steve—”

He crawled out from under the table and leaned into to peck Tony on the cheek. “Let me grab my tool kit.”

He walked out to the shed, already making a list of what he needed in his head.

He’d fix this.

* * *

A couple of days later, Steve returned home from dropping the pups at school. 

He’d wanted to keep J.J. home for a little longer, but the pup was getting restless and whining about missing the last week of school for the year. Tony had pointed out his arm was safe in the cast as long as he didn’t mess around too much. Steve had relented, but not before having a strong word with his teacher, who had been very kind, even though it was clear she thought he was worrying too much.

So, he’d returned home with a plan in mind, changing into old clothes and sitting down to pull on his work boots.

_Crash!_

Steve jerked up looking for the source of the noise. The pups were at school, Harper was out in the yard, so that meant—

“Tony!”

“It’s fine!”

He headed towards the half of the kitchen hidden from view to find Tony at the far end with his hands on his hips. “I just dropped two glasses.”

Steve looked down to see the sea of glass chips on the floor. “Let me help you.”

“I got it,” Tony said, looking annoyed at the mess. He was wearing socks.

Steve shook his head. “You’re not wearing shoes. You’ll cut yourself.”

“Pass me my slippers, would you?”

“I’ll do you one better.” Steve stepped carefully over the mess, and without another word swept the omega into his arms. “Taxi service.”

Tony flailed before grabbing his shirt and holding tight. “You’re ridiculous,” he said fondly. “Put me down, I need to get some shoes and a dustpan.”

Steve dropped him down onto the couch and gave him a peck. “I got it.”

“Steve—”

“I got it,” Steve repeated firmly. “You just sit there and look pretty.”

Tony raised an eyebrow, but obligingly posed like a pin-up omega. “You could at least try and challenge me, Rogers.”

Steve snorted but grabbed the broom and pan, picking up all the pieces he could till he was satisfied. He pulled the vacuum from the cupboard, and once Jarvis had scanned the area and given him the all clear, he went and joined Tony on the couch.

Tony rolled until he was leaning up against him. “What would I do without you, huh?”

Steve chuckled. “Build a robot alpha that did everything I did, but didn’t nag you about cutting down your caffeine?”

Tony pretended to contemplate it. “Yeah, that sounds about right.”

Steve gave him a nudge, and Tony snorted. “On second thought, seems like too much work. Guess you better stick around.”

Steve leaned in to kiss him. “Guess so.”

Tony tried to deepen the kiss, but Steve pulled away reluctantly. “I’ve got to go fence off that tree.”

Tony blinked in surprise. “Can’t it wait?”

Steve felt the tug of arousal and briefly considered leaving it till later. The tree would still be there after all. It was a tree, what else was it going to do?

But then in his mind, he saw a flash of J.J.’s tear-streaked face and shook his head. “Sorry, better do it now.”

He got up and gave Tony one last kiss before heading back out to the truck to grab the fencing supplies, his omega giving him a frankly bewildered look from the couch.

Hopefully it would be a quick job and he could head back inside and pick up where they’d left off.

* * *

The weeks following J.J.’s accident were pretty busy, even by their usual standards. 

It was tough explaining to a six-year-old why he had to wear a plastic bag in the bath, and why he couldn’t go play in the paddling pool with his friends even though it was hot out. And keeping him from scratching was a near full time job.

Steve didn’t even have time to work.

He’d had to postpone a venue scouting trip because it was the same day as J.J.’s next doctor’s appointment, and then Maria had gotten sick and Steve had needed to play nursemaid.

It was the start of the summer holidays too, so the pups had to be kept entertained.

Every time he opened his laptop to try to catch up on work during the day, he’d remember J.J.’s betrayed tones, telling him he was too busy to play. He’d close it with a sigh, and then get back up and pull out the supplies for another art and crafts project, or set up a train set, or get ready to watch the _Secret Life of Pets_ for the hundredth time.

He also kept finding danger spots around the house. A loose piece of carpet here, a cupboard door that closed too quick and could easily jam tiny fingers.

If he wasn’t playing with pups, he had his toolkit out – sanding, hammering, or adding a child lock.

He’d never noticed how much of a death-trap their house was until now.

Every night, once the kids were finally in bed, he’d get to work. He often finished late, crawling into bed to spoon an already-asleep Tony, then getting up with the sun to prep breakfast for everyone and try and get some work done before Riri and J.J. got up and started fussing. 

Thankfully, the fire crew only had two call outs, both for fairly minor accidents – he wasn’t sure he would’ve been up for much more.

It was like his to-do list kept adding to itself every time he ticked something off, and every time he tried to take a break, he couldn't help but think of the consequences.

He was wearing himself out, he knew it, but he couldn't seem to stop.

* * *

Steve wiped away the sweat from his forehead as he sawed through the timber in front of him. It was a little hard to see, so he adjusted the camping lantern on the deck to give himself more light. He checked the measurements again, shoving the handle of the tape measure in his mouth as he cut the wood slightly shorter. His radio was playing quietly, wary of bothering the neighbours, and he hummed along to the melody as he worked. 

Beside him, Harper chewed on her toy, keeping him company. He pat her on the head, and she wagged her tail happily.

“Steve.”

He looked up at the sound to see Tony standing in the doorway, bathed in light from inside the house.

“You need something, sweetheart?”

Tony quirked a brow. “What are you doing?”

“Oh, just fixing a couple of things.”

“What things?” 

“I saw this step was a bit loose and I didn’t want you or the pups to trip. So, I just thought I’d take off the old piece and fix a nice new section on it. And then I realised two _other_ steps were loose, so I figured I’d just redo the whole staircase just to be on the safe side.”

“Sure,” Tony nodded, seeming to understand. “Makes sense. Admirable, really. My main question, I think, is why are you doing this at ten o’clock at night?”

Steve blinked. “I didn’t realise it was quite that late. But no harm in getting it sorted now.” 

“I thought we were going to watch the rest of _Good Omens _and have that leftover pizza. I didn’t even know you were out here. I thought you’d stayed late at your Ma’s or something.”

Whoops. “Sorry, babe, I didn’t mean to keep you waiting. I just need to get this finished and then I’ll be in.”

“Hmmm,” Tony said, but went back inside.

Steve watched the door close and rubbed at the uncomfortable feeling in his chest. No matter; he’d make it quick and then go in and join Tony. He just needed to finish this first…

* * *

“Ok this has got to stop,” Tony announced as Steve came down the stairs the following morning. 

The stairs had taken longer than he'd thought, and after a quick shower he’d fallen exhausted into bed. Tony had clearly given up on him and had been already snoring softly between the sheets.

“What has?” he asked, confused.

“You, with the Mr Fix-it routine and quite frankly over-spoiling of our pups,” Tony said, sounding exasperated.

“I’m not— I don’t hover!”

“You cancelled your trip to New York. I thought you weren’t doing this anymore.”

“It was a long trip! I just wasn’t up for it.”

“It was just for a weekend. And I was going to be home. And you didn’t say anything to me first.”

Steve folded his arms, feeling defensive. “I just didn’t feel like it; stop making such a big deal about it.”

“Alright, how about how you’re acting around the pups?” Tony asked, eyebrows raised. “Maria threw the biggest tantrum yesterday, and you didn’t even tell her off for it, just picked up her toys and gave her a cookie! And J.J. may as well be ringing a little bell the way you’ve been with him lately.”

“He hurt his arm; there’s nothing wrong with being a little attentive.” Steve shot back. J.J. had been a little trooper, after all. He’d asked for countless drawings on his cast from his papa, which had made Steve feel all kinds of warm even as he was reminded by his failings every time he saw it.

“Yeah, but Steve you haven’t taken time away from them to do anything for you. Not even to see Bucky. Which is driving Natasha nuts, by the way. She says the only break she gets is when you take him to the bar or out to a game and she hasn’t had the house to herself in weeks.”

Steve snorted. “She picked him; that’s her problem.”

Tony chuckled. “I did say that, but that doesn’t change the fact that you’re acting weird.” His face grew serious. “You’ve been weird with me too you know. Coming to bed after me and getting up before I wake up. I don’t think we’ve had a night in together for a week because you’re always finding something that needs doing. We haven’t had sex in over two weeks. What is going on with you?”

It was as if the stress of the last few weeks suddenly overflowed, and the truth bubbled up before he could think to stop it. “I let him get hurt, Tony!” He burst out, before he slammed his mouth shut, his jaw clenched tight.

Tony’s arms dropped their defensive stance. “What?”

“He broke his arm and it’s my fault.”

Tony looked confused. “He fell out of a tree, Steve. That’s not your fault.”

“I was working. He wanted me to spend time with him, and I was busy with my proposal, so I put my work in front of our pup, and he got hurt. So, forgive me if I don’t want to do that again!”

“Steve,” Tony groaned. “You’re allowed to work. You give up so much time to make sure you’re there for them, you’re allowed time to yourself. And I bet you were planning to spend time with him once you were done, weren’t you?”

“Well, we’d agreed a time—"

“Exactly,” Tony said, cutting him off. “J.J. was just being a brat. He was being impatient, and he disobeyed you when you said not to go outside, and he hurt himself. And I’m sure he hasn’t learnt his lesson and he’ll do it again because that’s what kids do. But that’s not your fault. And you don’t have to be his shadow.”

“I just—" Steve wasn’t sure what to say. He just wanted them to be OK.

Tony stepped up, wrapping his arms around him. “I know, baby, I know. But you can’t work yourself to the bone just so none of us get a splinter. The pups need to learn patience and boundaries, and they can’t do that if you fix every little thing for them.” He hugged Steve tight. “Our lives are always going to be weird because you picked me for some unbelievable reason—” Steve pinched his side and he chuckled. “Alright, because I was a hot piece and you knew you could never do better than me.”

“Damn right,” Steve muttered into his hair.

“Our lives are always going to be hectic and I need you to still take time to be you. To be my gorgeous, funny, creative alpha, not just Riri and J.J.’s parent, no matter how great you are at it.”

Steve felt the heavy weight leave his shoulders. Hearing Tony say it made it feel reasonable and fair, and the tight pressure he’d been feeling the last few weeks lessened. “OK.”

“Good. Also, no matter how sexy it is to watch you with your shirt off and using all those tools, all this home-handyman nonsense has put a real damper on how much action I’ve been getting, and I am less than impressed.”

Steve laughed. “Sorry if I’ve been lax in my duties as your bond mate.” He leaned in to kiss the top of Tony’s ear. “I’ll make it up to you, promise.”

“You’d better,” Tony breathed. “But first, we’re going out. Let’s go see a movie or something. Without the pups. Just you and me.”

Steve felt a grin stretch over his face. God, that sounded nice. He loved his pups more than anything, but the idea of an evening that didn’t involve being the bad guy in a six-year old’s plush toy theatre felt like just what he needed. “That sounds perfect.”

* * *

Steve swung his arm around Tony as they walked out of the theatre. 

He felt more relaxed than he had in weeks. He hadn’t realised how much he’d missed spending time just the two of them.

They drove back to Shield, chatting and singing along to the radio.

It was something he needed to work on, he knew. He couldn’t get obsessive every time something went wrong - it wasn’t fair on Tony, and it wasn’t fair to himself. It was just difficult having everything you ever wanted and being afraid to lose it.

“You alright there? You’re tense all of a sudden.”

Steve reached out and took his hand, giving it a squeeze. “Sorry. It’s just – I was thinking I can’t keep doing this to you. Getting so worried about things that I neglect the important stuff.”

Tony shrugged. “It’s OK. You only do it when it’s about keeping us all safe. I can live with that.” He smiled. “It’s hard to be mad at a man who would give up things that make him happy just to care for his kids and the omega he loves.” He mock-scowled. “Just don’t think I’ll let you get away with it next time.”

Steve grinned. “You got it.”

His headlights flashed on the ‘Welcome to Shield’ sign. “Steve, pull over!”

“What—"

“Just pull over. Oh, there! Take that turn-off.”

Steve obeyed, confused. The turn-off didn’t lead anywhere special, just to a picnic spot near the river.

He parked up and turned the truck off, turning to Tony. “Why are we—”

He was interrupted by Tony climbing into his lap and kissing him for all he was worth. He reacted automatically, hands coming up to hold his hips. He let it go on for a few moments before he pulled way. “What?”

“Your Ma’s at home with the kids. And I want to have you now.”

The words sent heat down his body, and he slid his hands up under Tony’s shirt. He should probably be responsible and suggest they wait till later. You know, when they weren’t _in public_. But he found it really hard to care as Tony ground into his lap.

“Backseat,” he managed, groaning as Tony mouthed at his neck. “I want you spread out under me.” 

“Yes, Alpha,” Tony purred. He gave Steve another peck before rolling off him and climbing into the back. 

Steve followed eagerly, pulling off his shirt and settling between Tony’s legs to kiss him.

They stripped off slowly, enjoying the ability to take their time. When they were at home there was always the risk that one of the pups would come to their room in the middle of the night, so they often had to be quick about it or wait until the kids were sleeping over somewhere.

Here he could have as much of his omega as he wanted. Tony panted and moaned beneath him as he kissed down his chest, nibbling at sensitive spots.

In the distance, he could hear the rushing sound of the river, reminding him of where they were. Not tucked away from prying eyes, but outside, where anyone could find them.

_Exposed._ Steve’s skin prickled with the thought, the heat flushing to his face. He nuzzled Tony’s hip greedily, breathing in his scent.

“Steve, please.”

Steve took pity. He moved to mouth at his cock, taking his time and making Tony cry out with it. Finally, Tony pulled him up for a kiss. “Time for you to start making up for your absence. I want you in me. Now.”

Steve chuckled. “I can do that.”

He lined himself up carefully, pushing in with a slow drag. God, that felt good. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Tony moaned, as Steve slid fully inside. “Especially like this.”

Steve snorted. “Good to know you’ll always want me for my body.”

“I _suppose_ there’s other things I like too,” Tony offered.

Steve drew back and thrust deep, making Tony yelp. “Oh, you suppose, do you?”

Tony grinned. “A bit. Maybe.”

Steve thrust again. “Guess I’d better live up to expectations.” He started a quick rhythm, not giving Tony time to snark back, and moved to suck at his neck.

“Ooh,” Tony moaned, shifting his hips to meet Steve’s. “You’d better.”

He didn’t rush, keeping his pace even to make it last. He waited until he began to feel Tony’s impatience before he sped up, thrusting hard and deep and making his omega writhe.

“Please, Steve, I’m close, please,” Tony moaned, and Steve lifted himself up, moving his hand down to –

“Steve! Hey, you OK, man?” There was a knock at the window and Steve looked up, just in time to be blinded by the light of a torch.

Tony yelped and grabbed for Steve’s shirt, using it to cover himself, his legs tightening around Steve’s back to hold him in place.

“Oh my god!”

Steve blinked the spots out of his eyes and saw— “Clint!”

The torch dropped as Clint, dressed in his police uniform, moved away from the window. “My eyes! I thought maybe you’d broken down!”

“Well, I haven’t!” Steve shouted, a mix of embarrassment and annoyance colouring his tone. He was horrified at being caught having sex, but he was also still inside Tony and the shock hadn’t dampened his arousal at all.

There was a pause. “Who’s in there with you?” Clint asked, his voice suddenly like ice.

For a second, Steve was confused. He’d expected laughter not anger. “What? Who do you—” He cut himself off as the answer popped into his head. Oh. _Ohhh_. Yeah, he could see that. A bonded alpha, getting his knot off in a secluded spot. Clint obviously hadn’t seen it was Tony tucked beneath him, especially once he’d shoved the shirt over his head.

Tony started to shake, and Steve realised he was laughing silently. Oh sure, fine for him! Their friend hadn’t seen _his_ naked ass and been accused of being a faithless jerk all in one go.

“This is your fault!” He told the giggling lump. It just made Tony snort and laugh harder.

“This isn’t a joke, Steve!” Clint said angrily from outside. “You have an omega and pups at home!”

“Oh my god, Clint, it’s me!” Tony finally managed to get out. “It’s Tony.”

“Tony!” Clint said, sounding relieved. Then – “Oh gross, you guys, do that at home!”

“We’re fine, officer,” Steve said sternly. Tony’s shaking around him hadn’t exactly calmed him down. “Get out of here, Clint!” 

Clint snorted. “Yeah, I bet you are. Alright I’m going; you kids have fun!”

Steve groaned, rubbing his hand over his face. He waited until he heard Clint’s car driving away before he pulled the t-shirt off Tony’s face and glared down at him. 

Tony was biting his lip, his eyes dancing with mirth.

“You were no help,” Steve grumbled.

Tony burst into laughter again. “I can’t believe we got caught! No one comes down here!”

“I am never going to live this down, I hope you know that.”

“I’m sorry,” Tony offered, leaning up to kiss Steve. “Let’s just head home, shall we?”

He started to shift, but Steve held him in place. “I don’t think so.”

Tony raised a questioning eyebrow, and then seemed to realise that Steve was still hard inside him. “Oh.” He clenched down and Steve groaned at the feeling. “I always forget you’re a bit of an adrenalin junkie. Bet you’re raring to go, aren’t you?” The last was a breathy whisper, and Steve nearly whimpered.

“If I’m going to be made fun of for the rest of my life, I’d rather like to have earned it,” Steve said, nuzzling against Tony’s cheek.

“Then have at it,” Tony said, wrapping his arms around his neck. “I’ll catch back up.”

Steve shifted up onto his knees to get better leverage. He’d never backed down from a challenge in his life, and Tony knew it. “You got it.”

* * *

“Papa!” 

Steve looked over at the two expectant pairs of eyes at his elbow. “Yes?”

“We want to go to the park,” Riri said, with an air of expectation.

“Do you now?” Steve answered, continuing to type up the risk analysis for the art festival in Rochester.

“Yes.”

“Well, I’m working. But we can go this afternoon, or you can ask Nana when she comes at lunchtime.”

Maria stamped her foot. “No, now.”

Steve raised an eyebrow. “Is that how we ask for things?”

She frowned. “_Please_ can we go now?”

Steve hid a smile. “That’s better. But no, not now, I’m working. Why don’t you guys play with the dog outside? She needs a run around.”

“But we can take her to the park with us!” J.J. said, waving his arms in outrage. “The park is outside!”

Well, couldn’t argue with that logic, but he suddenly caught Tony leaning in the doorway out the corner of his eye, and he knew if he folded now, he’d be mocked for being a softie.

“Come on guys, I have to get this done. If you entertain yourselves, we can go later.”

“But Papa, we want you to come play. You’re the best at it.” He was being manipulated, plain and simple. He knew that, and yet it was still hard to ignore…

“I bet Dad will take you to the park. Why don’t you go ask him?” He said, making eye contact with Tony, his expression guilty but almost definitely not guilty enough.

Tony rolled his eyes, trying not to smile, but gamely took over as the pups rushed over to try their sad eyes on him.

Eh, baby steps. He’d become the tough parent another day.

**THE END**

**Author's Note:**

> For some reason this one just did not want to get written, but I persevered!
> 
> I've been working on some other stuff for the verse as well, but I needed this one out of the way first, so hopefully the next part won't take as long :)
> 
> I'm also taking part in the Marvel Hallmark event - so if you fancy reading a Steve/Tony Christmas rom-com with all the best cliches, do subscribe to my author tag so you take a look when it comes out :D


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